Race organisers cut the race short by roughly 15km as temperatures soared to above 45°C (see more below). The unseasonally warm weather saw the peloton’s average speed drop below the expected minimum, making race organisers worried the stage would finish in the dark.

The early running was made by a six-rider escape group, the last of which to be caught was Francesco Mancebo (SkyDive Dubai). A long-range solo move by Tunisian Rafaâ Chtioui (Skydive Dubai) was wrapped up with 1km to go, as the sprinters readied themselves for the final sprint.

The inaugural Abu Dhabi Tour continues today with a 129km stage which is also expected to end in a bunch sprint.

Sam Bennett claims victory at Paris-Bourges

Ireland’s Sam Bennett (Bora-Argon 18) has taken his fifth win for the season, sprinting to victory at Paris-Bourges on Thursday ahead of Nacer Bouhanni (Cofidis) and Giacomo Nizzolo (Trek Factory Racing).

“Coming into the finale it was pretty dangerous but the guys kept me in a good position in the last 10 kilometres,” said Bennett.

“Then, before the one kilometre to go banner, Shane [Archbold, his lead-out man] took over. From that point, he was on the front with me on his wheel. I thought it was too early but obviously he just had massive, massive power. He brought me till 250 meters. He did over one kilometre in front!

“And then I was able to accelerate from his wheel. It was a long sprint but it was great. I just want to thank the team for the massive support.”

Bennett will attempt to repeat yesterday’s success at Paris-Tours on Sunday.

Brad Evans wins stage 2 of the Tour of Tasmania, moves into the overall lead

Kiwi Brad Evans (Pat’s Veg) has won the bunch sprint to take out stage 2 of the Tour of Tasmania, moving into the overall lead in the process. New Zealand road champion Joe Cooper (Avanti) was second while Evans’ teammate Robbie Hucker was third.

Image: Con Chronis

“It was a great stage,” exclaimed Evans after his win. “We had Robbie Hucker and I up there in a front group of 15 guys. Two kilometres out the yellow jersey holder [Ben] Hill and his teammates got back on, but I was sure that they had done plenty of work to get there so I was backing myself for the sprint.”

At the beginning of the day, German import Michael Schweizer (African Wildlife Safaris Cycling Team) joined an early breakaway and soon established a considerable lone lead, perhaps inspired by teammate Sean Lake’s solo winning effort on Wednesday. However after Schweizer clinched both intermediate sprints, he was brought back by the group. An immediate counter attack resulted in a small group enjoying a short breakaway before they were once again absorbed by the peloton.

Evans now leads the Tour of Tasmania by three seconds over Ben Hill ahead of today’s stage 3 from East Devonport to George Town over 119.9 scenic kilometres.

Riders slam hot conditions in Abu Dhabi

The first stage of the Abu Dhabi Tour was run and won in sweltering conditions, prompting cries of frustration from some riders.

“This was the hottest day of my career, and for most of the others riders,” stage winner Andrea Guardini said. “We started the day in the desert at 53°C. I’d only ever seen 50° before when I was training in Adelaide, Australia. I thought about it, but I knew that the others were suffering too.”

“It was impossible, it went too far,” Tom Boonen (Etixx-Quick-Step) said. “It’s just impossible to race. On the first small climbs, my heart rate was 170 to 180, so was everybody else’s, and without really pushing. You can ride in these conditions but you can’t race. The guys in the front just fell back one by one.”

“Who can go full-gas on Friday on the mountain?” Tom Dumoulin (Giant-Alpecin) said, referring to stage 3’s summit finish. “It’s not possible in these temperatures.”

Average temperatures in Abu Dhabi for October are normally closer to 30°C. Forecasts suggest temperatures around the 40°C mark for the remainder of the race.

Doug Ryder: Team Dimension Data is physically and financially ready to go WorldTour

by Shane Stokes

The team was missing this week from the list of those applying for WorldTour licences, but its fans need fear not; MTN-Qhubeka, soon to be renamed Team Dimension Data, very much feels ready to step up a level.

“Our team has been amazing this year, you can see it is a cool team,” team principal Doug Ryder told CyclingTips. “We have had lots of good things happen to us and we have been very fortunate, I think. We have now brought on some amazing partners that love cycling and want to make a big difference in the sport.”

Ryder believes that despite missing initial selection for the WorldTour, the team could still be given the nod for 2016.

“The process is with the UCI now,” he said. “They look at all the contacts that you have in place, and on the 20th of October, with all the rider contracts that have been submitted for the 2016 season, they take your five best riders, add those points together and put you in a bucket against all the rest of the teams that have applied.

“Then they rank you based on your best five riders that have the most points. They look at the top 18 teams and on the first, second, third of November – whenever Ernst and Young have checked all of your documentation, your bank guarantee, your sponsor contract, your financials, your administration, your ethics and your sporting criteria, then they decide what teams will be eligible.”

Ruben Plaza joins Orica-GreenEdge

Orica-GreenEdge has announced a strengthening of its climbing stocks in 2016 with the arrival of Spaniard Ruben Plaza.

Plaza won a stage at this year’s Tour de France and Vuelta a Espana, both of which were taken from breakaways. The Spaniard joins compatriot Amets Txurruka who has also been confirmed to join Orica-GreenEdge in 2016.

“I’m really proud that a team such as Orica-GreenEdge is giving me this chance be part of something special,” Plaza said. “I was looking for a new direction for my career, so when this possibility came up, it was an easy choice for me to make.”

“I’m at a point where I’m ready to give 100% to a team with some amazing young talent for the Grand Tours and I’m convinced we can take those guys very far.”

Sport director Neil Stephens said Plaza would give Orica-GreenEdge ‘a range of experiences and abilities we are missing at the moment’: “The main thing we want out of Ruben is his experience, his capacity to guide our young guys, but also his ability to be there in the key moments,” Stephens explained.

Carlee Taylor and Leah Kirchmann among new signees at Liv-Plantur

Liv-Plantur has announced the arrival of four new riders in 2016: Australia’s Carlee Taylor, Canadian Leah Kirchmann and Dutchwomen Riejanne Markus and Rozanne Slik.

“Carlee is a climber, and she and Sabrina Stultiens will become our important riders for the difficult classics and climbing stages, team coach Hans Timmermans said. “She also has shown her ability to perform well in races like the Ronde van Vlaanderen, for example, and she will be valuable to the team at those races.”

“Leah is a talented all-round rider who is good in the classics and capable of doing a good GC but also has a strong sprint, which she showed by finishing third at La Course by Le Tour last year.

Cyclists urged to avoid “dangerous” Melbourne city streets

A new draft plan from the City of Melbourne will see cyclists encouraged to avoid several streets in the CBD including Lonsdale Street, Flinders Street and King Street.

According to Melbourne’s lord mayor Robert Doyle, the plan is a world-first and promotes “safety and common sense”: “The amenity of Flinders Street is very hard for riding a bike, if you think about the trams, the traffic, the parking,” Mr Doyle said back in July. “It’s not an area that’s easy to share for bikes and to do so safely.”

Cycling advocates are unimpressed:

“Every time there’s a clash between bikes and cars, council supports the cars,” Nik Dow, from the Melbourne Bicycle Users Group said. “This is not planning that will get people riding. Their thinking is all wrong.”

The number of morning peak commuters cycling in Melbourne has reportedly nearly doubled since 2008. The draft plan is open to public comment until November 20, with a final report due to be released in March next year.

In-race footage at the Abu Dhabi Tour

This footage from the Abu Dhabi Tour gives you an idea of what the racing was like. Here’s a video from the start and early stages:

And here’s the final sprint as seen from the bars of runner-up Tom Boonen.

Solo Twenty-Four

This video is more than a year old now but it wasn’t until this week that we came across it. It’s a great piece of film featuring single-speed world champion Brett Bellchambers as he competes in the 2013 world solo 24-hour mountain bike championships. Worth a look.

Going Places, an animated cycling ad

This is a great little ad from the 1950s showing why people should be riding bikes.

What You Missed

And finally this morning, here are a few things you might have missed at CyclingTips in the past few days:

Did the Hengxiang Cycling Team model their jersey on the original RadioShack design, or is it just a cheap Chinese rip-off?

Love Guardini’s quote:

“This was the hottest day of my career, and for most of the others riders. We started the day in the desert at 53°C. I’d only ever seen 50° before when I was training in Adelaide, Australia.”

Man up!

Winky

It seems to be a cultural thing where people in some cultures see un-credited copying as acceptable or perhaps as some sort of homage. I don’t pretend to understand it, but have seen it in many fields. From car design, where many Chinese and Korean motor vehicles borrow heavily from BMW and Mercedes, to trying to explain to a business school colleague why his plagiarism was unacceptable and had to be removed from a joint paper we were submitting (or we would be failed and subject to disciplinary action). He never actually agreed with the principle, but grudgingly agreed with the majority opinion of the group.

Roger That

It relates very much to Confucianism, where one learns from The Master. When a writer, artist, cook or whoever can match the master, they become a master (more or less). So if, in the countries you mention, when you can match (copy) the best in the world, you supposedly are ‘up there’ too. Pure, unbridled originality is a bit more of a Western concept (again, I’m simplifying things here a lot). With car design, the reason much Korean car design looks German – it is. Kia (owned by Hyundai) bought Audi’s head designer a few years back (and some of his team). Both brands have design teams in Germany.

Michele

This is one reason why I love CT.

Might be off topic – but really enjoy the diversity of comments on matters like these.

Thanks Winky and Roger That.

Sorry Wade for going off topic :)

Dave

Samsung is particularly notorious – the company was created by the South Korean government specifically for the purpose of copying Western consumer goods and selling them at lower prices.

VK

You guys are over-analyzing this subject. It is simply because not everyone can afford a BMW, Mercedes, louis vuitton or Gucci. Which is why the Chinese always come up with economical options to cater for a demographic with lower purchasing power, which undeniably, has great volume. It is all commercial. The only aspect of cultural influence in making such unacceptable decision when viewed by the West is that the Chinese are profit driven, and they are damn good at making them.

VK

Oh.. and with Hengxiang’s kit design. Red and yellow is actually the colours of the flag of China. Which has strong influence from the People’s Liberation Army founded in the early 1900s. Yes it does look somewhat like RadioShack’s original design but only on Lance Armstrong’s kit with the yellow band – which arguably, shouldn’t be there?

Dave

+1 on Guardini putting a spoonful of cement in his espresso.

You can quite easily get 50°C in the sun even in Europe.

Andy B

Ive been to Dubai in 53 degree heat.. walking a few hundred metres was bad enough let alone racing

velocite

Just love that 50’s ad. The content is still apt and the retro style works for me..

Holby City

The origins of rule #12, n+1

Nitro

I went into my LBS this morning.

Asked them if I could have the new bike with Di-2, Power Meter, Disc brakes and all the toys for 2 shillings a week.

They told me to get lost.

What did I do wrong?

velocite

Har har! You should have offered 4 shillings – that’s what the ad said. And you were a bit greedy about the gear. Seriously though..I just did a quick google, and the average wage for ‘managers and clerks’ in Australia in 1950 was £433. A loan for three years at 10% would get £27, that’s 6.2% of that average wage. Current average wage is about $77k, 6.2% of which is $4,781. You may not get the power meter but I think you could get the other things you wanted for that amount.

Spare me the hypocrisy

The riders are p1ssing into the wind about the heat and general conditions at the Abu Dhabi Tour, because the UCI and world tour teams have all taken the cash to be there and promote the race on Twitter etc.

The riders should be bitching direct to their team owners who gladly sold them out.

It shows how ineffective a riders’ union is (is there one?). Especially if someone like JV is involved (major conflict there as one of the team owners taking the $ from the Abu Dhabi organisers).

They had a good chance of seeing a big stack too, notice on the onboard video that the organisers used barriers with protruding feet.

Victoria Libby

Work Staying At Ho me & Earn 97$p/h…..…..Last weekend I Bought A Brand new McLaren F1 after earning 18,512$,this was my last month’s paycheck ,and-a little over, $17k last-month .No-doubt about it, this really is the most comfortable work I have ever had . I began this 8-months ago and pretty much immediately was bringing home at least $97, p/h….Learn More right Here.
wv….
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???? http://www.googlebuzzsupportsemloyment961.blogspot.com/ ??????????????????????????????????????????????????

Michele

Some really good points there.

I can understand why some riders might be a little reticent to speak up against their Team Bosses; although as you rightly say, any angst should really be directed at Management.

However, Team Management have an easy solution to any quibbles they get from their riders. There are plenty of other riders who would be happy to take their place.

As of last night there were still 500+ pro riders without a contract for next year.

Sure some of those riders are going to / have retired. Some have no doubt signed a contract for next year and it just hasn’t been announced. And there’s still some time before squads get finalized.

But a good portion of those riders must be worried about getting a ride for next year – and more than a few will miss out. Team Management have the balance of power / upper hand when it comes to matters like this.

jules

I agree – it’s a disgrace that such unsafe working conditions are allowed in those countries. What are their govts doing about it? Nothing – they are undemocratic and corrupt. We need to find out who helped install them into power and keep them there, then.. oh, wait..

I feel a bit sorry for the race organisers as its still quite warm here at the moment. I think they have made a mistake with stage 3 that finishes up the climb. the climb has lights the whole way up so I think they should have put the race back a few hours and had an early evening finish.

jules

Rider slams race conditions at Tour de France

“I cannot race like this, I am at 180 bpm just trying to hold Chris Froome’s wheel up the mountains. It’s impossible.”

oh wait, that’s really happened ;)

Adam Fuller

Nik Dow, from the Melbourne Bicycle Users Group needs to rethink his position and his overall objective. His stance here seems counter-productive. By recommending safer alternatives the council are assisting new and less confident cyclists and also fostering good relations across all road user groups. There are plenty of roads in Sydney where a safer alternative makes sense and I’m sure Melbourne is the same. Recommending dangerous roads not be used isn’t anti cyclist, it’s practical risk management.

jules

disagree. nothing wrong with preferred routes – that’s already done and works fine. the problem with “discouraged” routes is that it makes cyclists who are confident about using them, or need to use them, targets for motorists who think “get off the non-preferred route!”

effectively it’s the same thing, but it’s all about the language and how it’s sold. this is not being sold as a pro-cycling measure, it’s being sold just as much as a “look, we’re getting pesky cyclists off these streets for you motorists!” measure.

Cam

People live and work on these streets – what they are suggesting is that it is to dangerous for these people to use a bike and encourage other forms of transport. Very backwards thinking.

If they have identified these streets as dangerous for a particular user group they should be looking at ways at reducing the risks along those streets.

All of these streets are already so congested with traffic that the average speed would rarely be above 15km/h from one end to the other in peak hour traffic – the most obvious risk management solution would be to reduce the maximum speed to 40km/h, King St statistically is also one of the highest pedestrian risk streets in the state. A lower maximum speed would also reduce that risk.

Karl

“The amenity of Flinders Street is very hard for riding a bike, if you think about the trams, the traffic, the parking,”

Sounds more like Swanston St to me.

Nick Clark

Loved Ruben Plaza’s win at the Vuelta, what was it, 120km solo? Looking forward to seeing him working for Chaves and the Yates boys in OGE kit!

Dave

Great win at the Tour de France too, holding off Peter Sagan on a technical descent and a short flat run to the finish.

Orica will learn much from him about going all in rather than just hoping to get a few guys in the first group.

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